North Korea has rejected claims that it was behind the $6.3 billion hack of cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Kim Yo-jong, a senior official in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and sister to leader Kim Jong Un, described the allegations as "absurd rhetoric".
Kim Yo-jong, director of the General Affairs Department of North Korea, issued a statement. She asserted that the "US has once again carried out a worn-out provocation by linking it to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea". She added that it was a "serious political provocation against the DPRK by which the US deceives international public opinion". She emphasised that the "consistent political stance of the DPRK government is to resolutely oppose all kinds of malicious acts in cyberspace".
The allegations were made by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Secret Service and cyber analysts. According to blockchain analysts and the FBI, the attack was led by the hacking group TraderTraitor, also known as the Lazarus Group. The FBI called on industry partners to help block transactions linked to the group's cryptocurrency accounts. The same unit was also accused of hacking the Bybit exchange in 2025, a breach worth $1.5 billion.
North Korea has previously been accused of a series of major cyberattacks in recent years, which it has always denied. Research groups such as the think tank S Rajaratnam School of International Studies claim that North Korea has systematically built its cyber operations. It is alleged to have recruited promising students and sent them to hacking units under the supervision of the North Korean intelligence agency.
Binance stated that initial checks showed that a laptop belonging to one engineer had been compromised. This allowed the attacker to make unauthorised withdrawals of funds. Trading in major cryptocurrencies continued in the meantime after the exchange worked with issuers to freeze the affected assets. Binance reported on Sunday that users had withdrawn more than $3.6 billion in assets from the exchange.
The exchange has repeatedly stated that it will cover all losses related to the attack. So far, it says, it has covered about 95 per cent of the assets stolen in that breach. The BBC has requested a comment from Binance.
